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For immediate release.
August 2, 2010
Contact: Bryan Warner, N.C. Center for Voter Education, 877-258-6837

Gov. Perdue Signs N.C. Response to Citizens United Decision

RALEIGH – Today at the State Capitol, Gov. Bev Perdue signed into law North Carolina’s response to a U.S. Supreme Court decision handed down in January that overturns state and federal limits on corporate spending in U.S. elections.

By a 5-4 decision in Citizens United v. FEC, the high court reversed decades of restrictions on corporations and labor unions spending money directly from their treasuries to influence the outcome of elections.   The decision leaves in place a ban on corporations and unions giving directly to candidates or coordinating expenditures with their campaigns.

In the wake of the High Court decision, the N.C. General Assembly approved HB748, requiring corporations who engage in independent election spending to disclose their spending in a similar manner as candidates running for office.  The statute also provides some guidance on when expenditures are truly independent and not coordinated with a campaign.

“The First Amendment of the Constitution was designed to ensure robust political debate. A big part of that is being able to evaluate the speaker,” said Damon Circosta, executive director of the N.C. Center for Voter Education. “This law says that if a corporation or union is going to enter the fray, then you have to give the public some idea of how much you are spending. We still have a way to go before we have an absolutely clear picture of the role of money in politics. We aren’t at high def just yet, but this law moves us away from the rabbit ears era.”

Gov. Perdue’s signing of the measure comes just days after the Disclose Act -- the federal response to the Citizens United decision -- stalled in the U.S. Senate, but with proponents vowing to take the bill up again later this year.

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The N.C. Center for Voter Education is a nonpartisan and nonprofit organization, dedicated to helping citizens more fully participate in democracy.